Wēi Yún Island is a small island in the Fang Zhang Xian Island sea area, only hundreds of miles wide, belonging to Qiān Yún Island.

  It was just after ten at night, and in a grove of coconut trees near the sea on the island, there was a hut made of yellow bamboo and some irregular wooden boards, with a faint light flickering inside.

  A lamp with a burning flame, flashing bean-sized sparks, illuminates the interior of the bamboo house in a warm yellow hue, while also emitting waves of fishy smell.

  "Gurgling", an old man who looked like he was in his fifties or sixties was puffing on a water pipe that was over a foot long, with his eyes narrowed and leaning against the head of an old wooden bed with some rough carvings, under him was a quilt with a slight musty smell.

  The old man's skin was dark and extremely dry, with several cracks on his cheeks, forehead, etc. The big hands holding the water pipe had a thick layer of calluses, especially around the tiger's mouth. The skin on the back of his hand was also divided into pieces by deep wrinkles.

  This is the typical palm of a fisherman, having been exposed to too much wind and sun, with dry and rough skin that is full of wrinkles.

  "This fish oil lamp smells terrible! I'll change it to bean oil another day." The woman who was mending the fishing net with a three-inch-long needle beside the lamp said, her face also bearing the marks of time. Because of poor eyesight or the dim light, she had to squint her eyes for a while before each stitch.

  "Endure a bit, our island doesn't have much bean oil left either. Tomorrow I'll go out to sea and catch a few big fish, then we can exchange some back!" The old man took a deep breath of water smoke, put down the bamboo pipe, comforted him with a sentence, and then said with a hint of boastfulness: "When I was young, I went to Qianyun Island once. The immortal masters on the island were everywhere. These immortal masters never lit oil lamps at night, but used luminous precious pearls instead. The price of just one pearl is enough for everyone on our entire island to live off for a whole year! Those immortals all had great magical powers, flying in the sky faster than giant birds..."

  "Alright, alright! Once you start talking about this, it never ends. I've been listening for half my life!" The woman interrupted the old man's words, scolding him with a hint of annoyance. However, the old man's words also brought back memories of her youth, when she loved to listen to the young men talk about the legendary master's stories, the strange and mystical magic, and the magnificent architecture of the heavenly palace, all of which left her enchanted. As she thought about this, a warm feeling rose in her heart. She looked up at the old man, who was silently puffing on his water pipe, clearly still savoring the scenery of Qianyun Island. The woman smiled and shook her head, continuing with her work.

  "Someone's coming!" The old man who was leaning against the mountain and smoking water suddenly sat up, with a strange expression to the woman.

  They didn't have many relatives and friends, and it was at this time in the evening that someone came to their door, but they couldn't guess who it was. Immediately, the woman also heard the rustling footsteps outside the house, and it sounded like more than one person.

  "Is anyone there?" The footsteps outside the house stopped, and a young man's voice came, with a somewhat urgent tone, as if he had encountered some trouble.

  "Doesn't sound like someone from this island, could they be from another island?" The old man had lived on the island for decades and was familiar with every face and voice. He muttered to himself as he peeked through the gap in the door panel, and indeed saw the vague outline of a young couple, although the light was dim and he couldn't see clearly, but they didn't seem to be any of the island's residents.

  Only islands with spiritual veins will have monks stationed, and ordinary people can survive under the protection of monks. Therefore, there are not many islands with ordinary people, generally separated by geographical locations too far apart, so each small island has little communication with other islands. At the same time, due to the relatively small number of mobile surnames, most of them have lived on a small island for generations, making the atmosphere of the mortal world also very simple and hospitable.

  The old man quickly opened the wooden door and saw a young couple in their mid-twenties, drenched from head to toe.

  These two people look very ordinary, but absolutely not the kind that makes you feel disgusted, and they seem to be a perfect match. Anyone who sees them for the first time will guess their relationship as a couple.

  "Uncle and aunt, my husband and I are from Qianyun Island. We accidentally encountered a big wave near Ruiyun Island and our boat capsized. The two of us swam ashore. Please take us in for the night." The young woman bowed to the two and said, pulling the darker-skinned young man beside her, who was slightly startled before also bowing.

  "Please, please! Of course, it's no problem!" The old man chuckled and said: "It's just that our family is a bit poor, we only have these two rooms. If you two don't mind, you can stay here for the night. My wife and I will go to the inner room and squeeze in with the kids! Wife, go light a fire and dry their clothes."

  "Thank you, uncle and aunt! You've worked hard!" The young man and woman said happily.

  Before long, the woman brought over a brazier with some dry firewood lit inside, and soon after that she sent over two bowls of salty fish noodles.

  The young man and woman naturally thanked them profusely, but the old man was very generous, waving his hand and pulling the old lady into a room inside.

  "I think this young couple must have run away from home!" The old woman whispered to the old man after they and the children lay down.

  "How can you tell?" The old man asked in puzzlement.

  "Take a good look at that young man, his skin is dark, but there are no calluses on his hands, and he speaks with an affected tone. Nine out of ten, he's a poor scholar who has never suffered hardship. And that young girl, although she looks ordinary, her demeanor is elegant and refined, definitely a young lady from a wealthy family. A poor scholar met a young lady, these two got together, they must have privately agreed to marry, but were opposed by the girl's family. The two of them, in the heat of the moment, ran away together! In those days..." The old woman said up to this point, and then stopped, looking slightly embarrassed.

  "Haha, think back to the old days when your mom didn't like me because I wasn't a scholar and refused to let you marry me. If it weren't for your dad persuading her at the last minute, we might have had to elope!" The old man chuckled softly.

  "Pshaw! Who would elope with an old codger like you!" The old woman spat.

  "I wasn't a dead old man back then, I was also very handsome when I was young, or else how would you have recognized me at a glance!" The old man argued with discontent.

  Although their voices were extremely soft, they were transmitted into the young man and woman's ears without missing a single word, and the two couldn't help but exchange a smile.

  This young man and woman were Zhao Di and Yun Mengli after hiding their cultivation and disguising themselves.

  The two chose this island for some reason.

  This island has a small spiritual vein, but the density of spiritual energy is extremely low, only barely qualifying as a low-grade spiritual vein. Therefore, any cultivator with even slightly higher attainments would not be willing to cultivate on this island, and would rather spend more spirit stones or choose smaller caves.

  Slowly, this small island became a white elephant-like existence, with spiritual veins and more than 10,000 ordinary people living on the island, but no one took over. Qianyun Island still had to spend some spirit stones every year to maintain the defensive formation on the island.

  Qianyun Island simply transferred the low-grade island to him at a price that was half-rent and half-gift, regardless of his cultivation level. As long as he could afford the annual spirit stone consumption of the island's formation, he could become the island master without having to pay any other fees.

  After such "generous" conditions were given, some monks who liked cleanliness finally moved their hearts, and a cultivator of the Refining Qi stage eventually became the island master.

  The island where the Qi-refining stage cultivators reside is unlikely to let these two encounter any trouble or be discovered.

  Additionally, the largest island near this island - Qianyun Island is controlled by the Confucian sect of Qianyun Sect. This sect has some similarities with Qianji Gate. The highest cultivation in the gate is only a late-stage foundation-building cultivator after forming the elixir. It has always been safely located here, and its relationship with the Orthodox Alliance, the Anti-Heaven Alliance, and the Hundred Clans Alliance is not very close.

  This way, Zhao Di and Yun Mengli's safety can be better guaranteed.

  Because Yun Mengli's beauty was too astonishing, even as an ordinary person, it would be hard to avoid causing great trouble, so the two of them simply transformed into ordinary young men and blended in with the mortals.

  Zhao Di casually set up an invisible shield, covering himself and Yun Mengli, then lightly floated over a layer of spiritual energy. In an instant, he transformed back into a refined young man, naturally exuding the carefree and otherworldly aura unique to cultivators, completely different from the dark-skinned youth earlier. Yun Mengli also returned to her usual appearance, her stunning beauty leaving Zhao Di somewhat stunned.

  "Meng Li's face, husband will have to look at it for a long time, and I hope that after a long time, husband won't get tired of it." Yun Meng Li smiled sweetly, her cheeks slightly red.

  "If there's a face in this world that never gets old, it must be my beloved wife!" Zhao Di gently stroked Yun Mengli's lovely face with his hand, his eyes filled with affection.

  Yun Mengli leaned against Zhao Di's chest and said softly: "Husband, do you know why I chose this household to start our life together?"

  Zhao Di gently stroked his wife's raven-black hair with his fingers, and smiled slightly as he replied: "You once said that your mother was of mortal birth; is this related to your mother?"

  "Not bad, husband guessed it right! My mother is indeed the daughter of a fisherman, growing up in this environment since childhood, until she met my father by chance at the age of 18, who was staying in the mortal realm for some reason. My mother often tells me that the years she misses the most are the few short years she spent with my father in the mortal realm, when my father was ordinary and happy. When she returned to Xingyun Island with my father, he was either busy studying formations or closed up in meditation, rarely having a leisurely day, and her interactions with him became less and less." Yun Mengli said slowly, playing with Zhao Di's collar.

  "My mother often said that I have a spiritual root, but whether it's good luck or bad luck is unknown. Although I had the opportunity to practice immortal techniques and possess powerful divine powers, it was difficult for me to experience the simple happiness of ordinary people. At least in her eyes, my father was happiest during those few years in the mortal realm."

  At this point, Yun Mengli let out a long sigh and continued to say in a low voice: "After my family's great change, I lost interest in the way of cultivation. If it weren't for remembering my father's unavenged death, there would be no motivation to continue cultivating. Apart from avenging my father, my greatest wish is to experience the simplicity and happiness of the mortal world as my mother said. Thank you also to husband for putting aside his cultivation to spend the rest of his life with Mengli."

  "Yes, ordinary people are happy and joyful because they are simple. As long as they can eat well and live well, they can be very happy. The trivial matters that seem insignificant to cultivators can make ordinary people excited for several days and unable to sleep. Similarly, the things that ordinary people pursue with all their might and worry about day and night are still not worth mentioning in the eyes of cultivators. And what cultivators pursue seems empty and unrealistic to ordinary people, perhaps they also think that what we cultivators pursue is meaningless and illusory." Zhao Di said calmly.

  "Yes, perhaps in the eyes of mortals, we cultivators are indeed high and mighty, able to fly about, possess great magical powers, live without illness or pain, and live extremely long lives. But they can hardly imagine how ruthless and cold-blooded the cultivation world is, devoid of human emotions. And as for us cultivators, we are also heartless and lacking in true feelings. If not for entering the mortal realm, perhaps husband and I would never have been able to love each other like this." Yun Meng Lian said softly, gazing warmly at Zhao Di.

  Zhao Di lightly kissed Yun Mengli's forehead, but the latter buried her head in Zhao Di's arms, blushing endlessly.

  Secondly, after changing their appearance, Zhao Di and Yun Mengli acted like an old couple, thanked them and explained the purpose of their visit. Following the guess of the two, they said that they had privately decided to spend their lives together and had eloped from Qianyun Island, planning to live on Xuyun Island in the future.

  The old man looked at Zhao Di for a moment, then suddenly said: "Jian younger brother, judging from your appearance, you should have read quite a few books! Your body is too weak and not suitable for doing rough work like me. Why don't you just open a private school on this island to teach the kids to recognize characters and make a living?"

  "Teaching?" Zhao Di's eyebrows slightly furrowed as he glanced at Chao Yun Meng Li.

  "That's right, I often hear the old man say that on Qianyun Island, children from families that aren't too poor will try their best to send them to a book hall to study for a few years. If they study well, they might even be noticed by Master Xianshi and become his disciple, and in the future, they might even become a great immortal master!" The woman also chimed in agreement.

  Zhao Di smiled slightly, probably the old couple was talking about the matter of Qianyun Sect recruiting disciples. As a Confucian sect, Qianyun Sect attaches great importance to reading and discussing the classics. If one can produce the aura of books during this process, not only can they display some powerful Confucian secret techniques, but also their cultivation of Confucian kung fu will be twice as effective.

  Therefore, Qianyun Zong going to the school to select some young disciples with spiritual roots and a bit of book fragrance, supplementing the entrance, is indeed a normal thing.

  "Husband, Uncle Li's suggestion is not bad, you might as well consider it." Yun Mengli said with a smile.

  （）